A holiday essential that is sometimes overlooked, travel insurance is there to cover costs and losses you may incur relating to your trip, such as medical expenses, lost luggage, or the cancellation of your trip.

Do you have a dog or cat? Pet insurance can provide peace of mind for vet bills and more. Whether you are looking for accident-only, time-limited, maximum benefit or lifetime pet insurance - we cover them all.

However, sometimes, looking for the more obscure tricks in life might benefit your health in more ways than one, and owning a dog could be one of these ways.

Increased Level of Exercise

Owning a dog comes with various responsibilities, including ensuring that the dog is cared for, fed and exercised on a daily basis, and may involve routine visits to the vet.

Exercise, in particular, is essential for dogs to keep them fit and healthy; both physically and mentally. Walking a dog on a daily basis can also contribute to our own recommended 10,000 steps a day, helping to burn calories and build fitness levels.

After all, an increase in time spent exercising can contribute to a healthier lifestyle and reduce the risk of serious chronic health problems such as heart disease and obesity.

Greater Social Prospects

Alongside the exercise aspect of owning a pooch, spending time walking a dog can also present owners with greater social prospects in day-to-day life.

Furthermore, a recent Swedish study of more than 3.4 million elderly people has suggested that owning a dog could help older people who live alone reduce early death by 36 per cent. The research says this could be down to offering companionship, but also recognises it could be due to different factors such as increased exercise.

Potential for Fewer Allergies

According to research led by Silvia Colicino, introducing a dog into your home could also reduce the risk of allergies.

This may be due to the 'helpful' protective bacteria that dogs carry - bacteria that could help children build immunity during their early stages of development.

However, signs that were shown to predict asthma symptoms beyond school years included allergies to cats, having eczema, and hayfever by the age of five, so unfortunately, there's no guarantee that owning a dog would erradicate allergies completely!

Effects of Happiness on Health

At Compare Cover, we've previously looked at the link between the affect of happiness on our health. Although a lot of external environmental factors will contribute to both our happiness levels and our wellbeing, there are studies to suggest that those who are happier can have lower levels of stress hormones, as well as other physical benefits.

So if having your own best furry friend makes you happy, it could also be good for your health!

Quotations are provided by comparecover.com on a non advised basis. This means that no advice is given or implied and you are solely responsible for deciding whether the policy is suitable for your needs. If you require advice, we have partnered with ActiveQuote* who can provide you with no obligation advice on 0800 802 1701.

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